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World’s Children’s Prize Foundation

The World’s Children’s Prize Foundation contributes toward a more humane world in support of the rights of the child; it is the world’s largest annual educational program teaching young people about the rights of the child, democracy, the environment, and global friendship. More than 57,982 schools with 27 million students in 104 countries have registered as Global Friend schools of the World’s Children’s Prize.

The program empowers children to demand respect for their rights while inspiring them to have faith in a better future. It also provides children with a platform to voice their concerns. In the annual Global Vote, participating children select who will receive their prestigious prize, the World’s Children’s Prize for the Rights of the Child, which recognizes exceptional efforts to protect the rights of the child. The annual Global Vote has attracted as many as 7,1 million voting children in a given year. The two candidates that do not receive the World's Children’s Prize for the Rights of the Child are awarded the World’s Children’s Honorary Award in recognition of their hard work. The World's Children's Prize vision is a world where the rights of the child are universally respected and where every new generation grows up as humane global citizens.

The World's Children's Prize mission is to catalyse the growth and development of a more humane global community through integrated global educational programmes, engaging a growing number of children throughout the world. Adults who perform outstanding work for the rights of the child and/or World’s Children’s Prize can be invited to become patrons of the World’s Children’s Prize. The World's Children's Prize calls them Honorary Adult Friends. Today, the World's Children's Prize has three global legends serving as patrons: Nelson Mandela from South Africa, Democracy Champion Aung San Suu Kyi from Burma, and Freedom Fighter Xanana Gusmão, today Prime Minister, from East Timor. More patrons also include Queen Silvia of Sweden, and World Leader in theelders.org Graça Machel and Desmond Tutu.

Since the launch of the program in 2000, more than 30 Prize Laureates have been awarded the World’s Children’s Prize. These role models have inspired children all over the world to demand change, and the prize money has helped improve the lives of thousands of the world’s most vulnerable children. The World’s Children’s Prize is open to all schools and humanitarian organizations. It is supported by 553 organizations and departments of education. Many of them implement the program in collaboration with over 100,000 teachers.

Through the World’s Children’s Prize, hundreds of millions of people are presented with information on the World’s Children’s Prize program and accounts of rights violations facing children around the world each year. Among the children who learn about their rights and democracy through the World’s Children’s Prize are millions of children whose rights have been violated. They include former child soldiers, debt slaves, street children, and children who have lost their parents to AIDS, genocide or the tsunami. Many of these children did not know they had rights before becoming involved with the program. The World's Children's Prize magazine, The Globe, and website are both published in several languages and read by children all over the world. The magazine is even smuggled into dictatorships like Burma, where children learn about their rights and organise their own democratic vote in secrecy.

Programmes:
• An educational process built on the principle of “by children for children” promoting children’s rights*, democracy, protection of the environment and global friendship.
• The recognition of people who have done outstanding work for children whose rights have been violated. They inspire children throughout the world.
• Support for some of the world’s most vulnerable children by granting prize sums to the individuals and organisations which we recognise in order to enable them to further their work.
• The empowerment of children, especially those who suffer violations of their rights, giving them a voice in the world, respect for their rights and faith in the future.